The primary purposes of Sustainability Matters are to improve the performance of New Zealand organisations from a sustainability, or "triple bottom" line perspective, and to advocate sustainability thinking and action.
Frequently this requires a change from "business as usual" to a different approach which not only reduces costs and improves financial performance but also results in much needed improved outcomes for people and our planet. We owe this to our children and to at least the next six generations i.e. seven generations.
The traditional measure of organisation success - financial outcomes - is an incomplete method of measurement and excludes key elements. These exclusions result in an "unbalanced scorecard".
Is this thinking new? No, far from it. Rachel Carson via her 1962 book "Silent Spring" was perhaps the person who more than any other alerted us to the need for changed thinking.
The thinking can be applied to entities of any size, in any sector, located anywhere.
Newsletters
As part of what we do a newsletter is published (usually) once very two weeks. It is four pages and is intended especially for chartered accountants** and those who use their services. It is distributed to subscribers by opt-in eMail. There is no ($) charge; donations are always welcome! By coincidence the newsletter is called Sustainability Matters.
** Because they have immense potential to influence others and to make huge positive differences to our world.
Sustainability Matters 26th May 2016
• Sustainability Group Events
• How to Let Go of the World and Love all the Things Climate Can’t Change
• Inside Syria’s Besieged Areas
• Sustainability Manager – Waitemata DHB
• Impact of Tree Planting – Photos
• The Waste Levy, a Waste of Time?
• Some USA Fracking Facts
• Lead and Influence Sustainability
• Printing Costs – Habitual, Often Mindless Choices
• Electric Bikes – Good Info to Know
• Technical Guide for ISO 14001:2015
• Growth vs Fixed Mindset: What Does it Mean for Sustainability?
• Why More is Too Much, and Less is Beautiful
• Purpose
• Auckland Sustainable Housing Summit
• Leaked Docs Reveal TTIP Unfriendly to Environment, Consumers, Democracy
• Using Sport to Save Energy Wins Award
• Revision of AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management Systems
• Finding Ways to Stop Spraying Crops.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 12th May 2016
• Sustainability Group Events
• Neoliberalism – The Ideology at the Root of All Our Problems
• We Scientists Don’t Know How to Do That
• Two Important UN Appointments
• Vast Planting of Trees Needed to Boost Green Economy
• Revision of AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management Systems
• ISO 5001 – Have You Heard About It?
• Some USA Fracking Facts
• Electric Bikes – Good Info to Know
• Carbon Targets for Shipping – Pressure
• Driven by Purpose with Intrepid Travel Co-Founder Geoff Manchester
• For James Hansen, the Science Demands Activism on Climate
• Climate Change Implications for NZ
• Making Australian Groundwater Data Accessible to All Defining What Matters
• Creating Living Buildings and Integrated Design: Short Course
• Teaching Case Study Competition
• Nepal Earthquake – Consequences
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 28th April 2016
• Sustainability Group Events
• Project Litefoot: New Zealand’s Gamified Green-sports Movement
• Polluted Inheritance
• Ten Things NZ Should be Doing Now to Combat Climate Change
• A-CSEAR Conference 2016
• From Finance to Farmer – ‘Incredible’ Permaculture Farm Created in 3 Years!
• It’s How You Pitch It
• AMP Capital Opens up Responsible Investment from $2,000
• The Someday Challenge
• Reality Bites the Dairy Industry: De-intensify or Sell, Dairy Farmers’ Choice
• Integrated Reporting Swells Britain’s Soft Power
• World’s Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund Drops 11 Companies Over Deforestation
• Auckland Sustainable Housing Summit 2016: Scaling up Sustainably
• Australia and New Zealand’s Ethical Fashion Companies for 2016 Revealed
• The Great Denmark to Become A 100% Organic Country
• Wind Turbine of the Future
• Workshop: Create Tangible Business Value through Life Cycle Assessments
• Climate Hypocrisy: JP Morgan’s Empty Promises on Coal
• Disobedience: Courage to Break Free
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 14th April 2016
In this ‘monster’ 6 page** edition;
• Sustainability Group Events
• Policy Makers Raising the Bar on Sustainability Reporting Worldwide
• How to Make a Nation: A Monocle Guide
• Edelman Trust Barometer Published in NZ For the First Time
• Why Would You Think About Becoming a TNS Professional?
• What if Every Act of Design and Construction Made the World a Better Place?
• The Farm which Grows Climate Change Solutions
• Fit for the Future: Be More Effective, Get More Done, with Less Stress
• Antarctic Loss Could Double Sea Rise by 2100
• Do Good Jobs
• British Columbia Businesses Call for a Stronger Carbon Tax
• Ecolabel Index
• Environment & Sustainability Consulting Commercial Manager – Local & International
• These 21 Countries are Cutting Carbon While Growing GDP
• One Million Climate Jobs: Tackling the Environmental and Economic Crises
• ‘Up to 100 Years’ to Restore Waikato River
• The True Cost – Who Pays the Price for Our Clothing?
• John Elkington’s Required Reading
• Dairy Downturn Chance to Change
• The Role of Internal Audit in Non-financial and Integrated Reporting
• Success in a Time of Economic Distress
• ACCA Welcomes Launch of the EC Public consultation on Non-financial Reporting Guidelines
• Ranui Sustainable Brings Kiwi Innovators to Northland
• Sorry, Feds: Kids Can Sue Over Climate Negligence, Judge Says
• Battle of Giants: GRI vs SASB vs IR
** = Currently there is such a large amount of ‘relevant’ sustainability related material it seems appropriate to convey more of it to you.
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 31st March 2016
• Sustainability Group Events
• A Need for Trained Carbon Accountants
• Tertiary Education and Training – Is it Fit for Purpose?
• Warren Buffet’s Annual Letter to Investors
• Integrated Reporting Training
• Freshwater Consultation
• Scientists: Seas Rising Faster than in Past 2800 Years
• Why Your Board Should Care About Sustainable Development
• Victoria Appoints Senior Leader in Sustainability
• Time to Act: The Accountancy Profession’s Contribution to the SDG’s
• Organic Market Outperformance
• Sustainable Development in the World’s Fastest Growing Reporting Region
• A Guide to Understanding Liquid Fuels Challenges and Moving Towards Stronger More Resilient Communities
• 2016 Green Ribbon Awards
• ‘New Thinking on Sustainability’ Conference Publication
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 17th March 2016
• Sustainability Group Events
• State of Nation Report 2016
• Fonterra to Pay Organic Milk Farmers at Market Rates
• Peak Milk: Why Dairying’s Big Dollar Days are Over
• How to Tell Your Sustainability Story
• Updated ISO 14004 Environmental Management Guidance Standard
• Aligning Agendas and Getting on With It
• Stern Warns Economic Models Underestimating Climate Risks
• Analytical Tools for Assessing Business Impacts and Dependencies Upon Ecosystem Services
• NEXT Foundation Invests in Large Conservation Project
• Builder Pre-wires Homes for Solar, EVs
• Maturity and Whole System Thinking
• Go Green Expo – Auckland
• Inaugural Meeting of Financial Stability Board’s Climate Disclosure Task Force
• Missing Element?
• Couple Protect Over 2 Million Acres and Donate Land to the Public
• How Faith-based Organisations Can Evaluate Their Work
To see the newsletter click here.
Sustainability Matters 3rd March 2016
• Sustainability Group Events
• Integrated Reporting: Will It Make a Difference?
• Integrated Reporting – Panel Discussion Seminar
• 6 Principles to Catalyse a New Generation of Collaboration for Sustainability
• Quotes of the Week
• Wise Response Strategy Workshop and Public Meeting: How does NZ Move Forward from COP21?
• How Forest Loss Is Leading To a Rise in Human Disease
• Methane Gas and what it Means to USA
• The PM’s 2016 Summer Reading List
• NZ Post Confirms Electric Vehicles as the Way of the Future
• Revolutionising Resource Use – How Your Business Can Benefit from the Circular Economy
• Record Inflow Takes Australian Ethical past $1.4 billion FUM
• The Big Sustainability Shift
• Social Enterprise Workshops
• Talented and Influential Sustainability Experts Sought by Auckland Council
• Soil Testing from the Sky
• What DiCaprio Said at the Oscars
• Case Study: Patagonia’s Circular Economy Strategy
• The Elements of Power by David Abraham
To see the newsletter click here.